Fools Crow

Fools Crow lies awake in his lodge thinking about a meeting in which the Lone Eaters debated whether they should stay and welcome their relatives from other bands into their camp or flee and avoid contact with other Pikunis out of fear of the white-scabs disease. They fear that if they leave, their lands will be seized by the Napikwans forever. The council ended without the Lone Eaters reaching any resolution. Fools Crow himself does not know which decision would be best for their band.

The next day, Fools Crow tells Red Paint that Nitsokan, the dream helper, has instructed him to make a journey as “a beggar” without food or fine possessions (319). Fools Crow travels on horseback for three days and three nights without eating or sleep until he reaches a small Napikwan “dwelling made of logs and mud” (324). Before entering the cabin, Fools Crow removes his weapons so that he can enter the “enemy lodge” as a beggar (324). When he approaches the lodge, a figure welcomes him into the cabin where Fools Crow lies down on a Napikwan “sleeping platform” covered by a quilt (325). While asleep, he